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Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

networksfromscratch.com

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Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#12
post #9

I really like the idea of this. I look forward to reading what's finished now, as well as what will be released in the future! I have a huge gap in knowledge for so many things that I interact with on a regular basis, but that I don't actually need to understand well in order to meet minimum job expectations. This seems like a good book to address network basics. Sadly, I'm a huge procrastinator, but this seems espec…

Thank you! Your backlog sounds like a fantastic list as well. I can wholeheartedly recommend Designing Data-Intensive Applications. I’m reading it a 2nd time for a book club at work, and I think it’s one of the best overviews of distributed systems out there.

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#16
Nice work - so far this looks like a fun way to learn about how computers communicate with one another.

If I'm not mistaken, it looks like there's a typo under the section "Binary is better?": it reads "...then R is also number 5" when I think it should read "...then F is also number 5".

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#17

Wow really neat, nice work! I also love the "read on the web for free, buy a print/pdf copy" model. I rarely buy books now without being able to sample them first. I like your writing style, and I think it's well on the way to being a great book. It might be a little early to start spreading the word though, with only 3 chapters ready so far. Hopefully when it's closer to being done you'll be able to get some attenti…

Thank you so much! I finished about 10k words while on paternity leave (mostly during nap time). Releasing early was mostly a choice to help motivate me. As well as to get early feedback and proofreaders.

Well done Seth. I hope you see it through. Writing in this area goes stale suprisingly quickly so fresh takes are always welcome. It looks like this could be pitched at 400 undergrad ""basic coms and nets" (what's missing is a great text at 300 foundation level that doesn't need too much math). You can still sell a lot of print books with the pdf free online, so I hope that works out well for you.

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#18
"Alice send the following marbles: Red, Green, Green, Red, Green, Red, Red–No, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, No, No. This translates to: nothing there, rock ahead, turn right, nothing there, rock ahead, turn left, nothing there."

Futurama had this figured out:

"One beep for yes, two beeps for no."

"Beep-beep"

"That means double yes!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUKxgg4yPxs

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#20

Nice work - so far this looks like a fun way to learn about how computers communicate with one another. If I'm not mistaken, it looks like there's a typo under the section "Binary is better?": it reads "...then R is also number 5" when I think it should read "...then F is also number 5".

Awesome! Thanks for reporting the first typo! I'm currently deciding between building a report errata feature, or just making it public on GitHub and accepting PRs.
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